by Mike Mannion
Bill sat down on a cracked old chesterfield and Frank sat beside him, big and sweaty and a bit too close for comfort.
The Doctor’s face broke into an ingratiating smile that made Bill’s flesh creep. “We must wait a moment for him to join us. Would you care for coffee?”
“No thanks,” replied Bill wondering if there were spiders in his cups.
“You are very special, my boy, do you know that? You have knowledge of a great many things.”
Bill shifted awkwardly. “I think you may have me mixed up with someone else.”
“Certainly not.”
“I can’t remember anything. I’m not joking. I’m no use to anyone.”
“We are sure that with the right, how shall I put it without worrying you? ... electrical stimulus and medical treatments your recollection will return.”
Bill’s felt anxious what he heard this and wanted to escape more than ever. “Mother said you could maybe cure me. But can I go now and think about it?”
The Doctor chuckled. “We’re not letting you out of our sight – Frank is your new best friend.”
Bill gave Frank a dubious sideways glance and saw his chubby face stared back, full of serious concentration.
They heard the sound of a car pulling up outside. Bill looked out of the window saw a big silver Mercedes glide to a halt.
“Saints be praised he’s here,” said the Doctor. “Prepare yourself for what you’re about to told. It will shock you greatly.”
Bill nodded dumbly. He didn’t like the sound of this at all.
The doorbell rang and Doctor van Devlin scurried out with an excited look. Bill sat nervously on the sofa and tried to ignore Frank. He gazed at a large silver crucifix hanging over the fireplace. There were muffled greetings out by the front door.
A huge bearded black man ambled through the door, so large he seemed to take over the entire room. He was wearing a long crimson kaftan embroidered with a black paisley pattern. He was powerfully built and had a very domineering presence.
“And this must be the famous William,” he said in deep voice with a slight Jamaican accent. “Good day to you.”
He held out a huge hand and Bill shook it. The man had an incredibly firm grip and Bill had to resist the urge not to whimper.
“Coffee?” said Doctor van Devlin in a very obsequious manner.
“No,” said the man sharply, then added, “thank you.”
“Sorry,” said Bill, “but I don’t think we’ve met.”
“You should have gone to see him!” hissed Doctor van Devlin. “You have the honour to meet the great and learned Professor Julius Nox.”
“Please Doctor,” said Professor Nox, flashing the Doctor a look that silenced him instantly. He turned to Bill and added, “Good to meet you at last, my good man. I was expecting you a couple of days ago.”
“Well, yes, mother did tell me to go and see you,” said Bill, “but I had a bit of bother.”
“You must come straight to my office with any problem, William. I guarantee that it will be sorted out immediately. I want your time at Middenmere to be a productive one. We must prepare you for the day you start your great and noble employment. I know you will find this very difficult.”
“My ‘employment’?” said Bill.
The Professor fixed him with a steely glare and said with relish, “The Apostles have serious plans for you.”
Bill trembled under the big man’s powerful gaze and felt an overwhelming urge to run out of the house as fast as possible. There was something about the Professor’s huge presence and domineering manner that frightened the hell out of him.
“I believe I should have received a letter?” said the Professor.
Bill had forgotten all about the letter his mother had given him.
“Well yes, I –”
“No matter, I have it here. It was retrieved from your room.”
The Professor pulled out the long yellow letter from a concealed pocket and opened it, reading with interest.
Bill was surprised that someone had been allowed to go rummaging around in his room. But he was also curious as to the contents of the letter. He couldn’t help blurt out: “What’s in it?”
“Nothing to concern you, merely your medical records,” said the Professor slipping it back into his pocket.
Medical records!... This piece of information made Bill even more freaked out than he was already. “Please just tell me what you want from me,” he mumbled.
“Of course William, that is why we are here. I think it is time for me to explain.” The Professor paced up and down the room, looking thoughtful. “Like me, and like many other important people, you have become a member of that most serious of organisations, The Ultorius Apostles.” The Professor lifted up the sleeve of his kaftan to reveal a tattoo of a writing salamander. “There are secret branches of the Apostles spread far and wide. We have members in the church, police, army and government. Our sacred work is to do whatever it takes to protect society from the Devil’s Bane.” The Professor looked at Bill and added in a deeply sinister voice, “They are no more than plague carrying rats and we are the exterminators.”
“You’re talking about Dark Pagans?”
“That is the common term, yes. The Apostles was formed one hundred years ago at Brimstone Manor by Lord Percy Valentine, a great man who was defiled in his time and is now forced back from quiet peace to walk with us again and suffer the curse.”
Bill was confused. “But... why are you so interested in me?”
“You are very special William. Prepare yourself for what I am about to tell you, although you may already suspect it. You are like no other creature on Earth, or any that has ever lived. We ordinary humans cannot see the beast that lurks within – the so called Bestia Marcam or Mark of Arddhu Og as the pagans call it – but you William have a wonderful gift. You know where evil is manifest, you can see these creatures for how they really are. Have you not discussed this blessing with your mother?”
Bill thought about the beasts he’d seen in the Dizzy Duck and the creature at the church, but he didn’t say anything.
“Centuries ago there were many cults but the law of this land has laid a heavy hand upon them. Today only one cult survives but this is the most dangerous cult of all. They call themselves the Servants of Arddhu Og and have found many ways to hide in society. They are low, cunning and venal. They spread the filthy curse of their cult by letting and drinking the blood of innocent people. But you shall help us root them out, every last one.”
“Arddhu Og?”
“That is their name for Satan. The devil possesses them with evil intent, they speak in tongues, they are possessed by evil!”
“I don’t know anything about this.”
“But William, you do!”
“I can’t remember.”
“Have patience William.”
Bill was filled with frustration as the questions he had long agonised over poured into his mind. “But... Who’s my father? Where did I come from?”
He tried to think about his past, tried desperately to dredge something up, anything at all. But his mind was empty.
“We will help you remember your past, but in our own way. You do not know how important you are, William. Your mind holds the greatest secret to aid us in our quest and we intend to find out what it is.”
“What secret?”
“That is for you to tell us.”
“But...”
“This is what is going to happen, William. Each evening, after you have finished in the Dining Hall, you must come to my room. I will expect you there at seven o’clock sharp every night. It is there you shall have your treatments.”
“Treatments?”
“We will start with hypnosis and psychotherapy, accompanied by some injections of a special medicine.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.”
Professor Nox looked angry. “You will listen and obey.”
“But-”
“
If that doesn’t work then I’m afraid we will have to move on to electro-convulsive therapy.”
“What!”
“Do not look so shocked young man. You will not be greatly harmed.”
Bill stood up. “You’re not zapping my brain! I might lose what little memories I’ve got! I’m leaving.”
Frank grabbed his arm in a vice like grip and pulled him back down onto the sofa.
The Professor looked very angry. “Enough! You will do as you are told or you can have the treatments at Brimstone Manor. The cellar is very well equipped.”
Bill gritted his teeth and his face reddened. He was shaking.
The Professor took a few moments to calm down. “Now, my obstinate little friend, we must get down to our other business. We are trying to find the two pagan witches who kidnapped and abused you in such a foul way. They are guilty of a most heinous crime.”
“Leave the girls out of it.”
“That is impossible William. You said their names were Ophelia and Lilith and they were fellow students. We have searched the records but there are no students with such names registered at Middenmere. Are you sure you have the names correct?”
“They won’t do it again-”
“We think they are two vain and stupid girls who were told what to do by someone who understands the rituals, someone who is guilty of obtaining illegal Dark Pagan knowledge. We must find these people and take them to Brimstone Manor for questioning.”
“You can’t just go around kidnapping people.”
“We must do whatever it takes to track down Lord Valentine. Like I said, the cellar is very well equipped. We can be very persuasive.”
“What sort of people are you?”
“I will tell you who we are William. In a very short time this Percy Valentine will become the Servant of Arddhu, evil incarnate here on Earth. He will become extremely dangerous. Innocent, God fearing people will suffer.”
Bill thought about the beast at the church and despite his misgivings could see how it needed to be stopped.
“It was in the church... the old ruined place in the woods behind the college.”
“We have searched the whole area but he is nowhere to be found.”
“Can’t you ring the police?”
Doctor van Devlin chuckled. “Inspector Ferret is Chief of Police. I don’t think you understand how the Apostles work William.”
“There was also a dog,” said Bill, “a big vicious dog. It had yellow eyes.”
“Yes, yes we know of Mordred’s brave rescue,” said the Professor, leaning forward and staring into Bill’s face. “Let me explain so you can understand. Lord Percy was resurrected with a very special kind of blood. When an Arddhu is brought back with this type of blood he loses all sense of himself as the human being he once was. He is possessed by Satan, or the force these pagans call Arddhu Og. The blood lust is his entire existence. He is the hand of the devil, down here on Earth. This form of resurrection is the worst possible manifestation of possession. He becomes what we call an Iamia Daemonium – an unbelievably dangerous thing. Nothing can save him except death. Vita Dantis become less and less effective until it is poison in his veins.”
“But how could this happen?” said a very confused Bill. “He was brought back with my blood.”
“Yes, he was.”
Bill still didn’t understand. “What’s so special about my blood?”
The Professor stared at Bill for a few seconds, deep in thought.
“Sorry William but I cannot tell you this. I believe it will be too great a shock.”
Chapter Nine - Lilith’s Curse
Be careful what you wish for.
It may just come true.
– Old saying.
Lilith moaned softly. She’d been woken up by something warm and rough rubbing against her cheek. The air was filled with a rancid smell. She opened her eyes and saw something so terrifying it made her heart convulse. She tried to scream but no sound escaped her lips. In the dim light, she could see the massive head of a shaggy beast looming over her, the fur around its fang lined jaws matted with dried blood.
The dog licked her face again. It felt wet and sticky. She was about to pull back the sheets and make a run for it, but the gut-wrenching terror suddenly evaporated. She became very calm. All she could think about was her overwhelming love for Lord Percy – and his pet. She brought her arms out from under the sheets and put them around the creature’s large furry neck.
“Claude! My darling Claude!”
She sat up and switched on her bedside light. “What time it is?”
It was almost three o’clock in the morning.
Claude jumped off the bed and trotted over to the door, scratching it with his huge paw. He turned his head, looked at Lilith with cold black eyes and whimpered slightly. She felt compelled to do exactly what the dog wanted, to let Claude out and follow him, so she got out of bed and opened the door. Claude rotted out into the corridor and waited.
Lilith stopped in the doorway. She was wearing a long white nightdress and wondered for a moment about getting dressed. But thoughts of anything other than following Claude were somehow driven brutally from her mind and she walked forward as if in a daze, without even closing the door behind her.
They went out through the main entrance. The sky was cloudless and star studded, with the elegant spires of Conatus College silvery-grey in the moonlight. Nobody was about and it was very quiet.
She followed Claude down a path through shadowy stone buildings, passed the College and went through an iron gate that led to the chapel grounds. Claude turned down a path that followed railings away from the main road, curving behind the chapel. The beast seemed to know exactly where it was going.
Lilith was shivering and her bare feet were sore and spotted with blood because of the sharp stones scattered along the path. She’d snagged and ripped the bottom of her nightdress on a rose bush. But discomfort didn’t concern her. All that mattered was following Claude. She knew instinctively that if anyone tried to take her away from Percy’s beloved pet, then she’d fight them with a ferocity she’d never known.
They followed the curve of a high stone wall and went through an open archway that led into a courtyard lined on three sides with Victorian terraces. The dog stopped and sat. Lilith watched him carefully. He was whimpering, turning his head from side to side, and looking at each of the front doors. Then he trotted slowly to the left, stopped beside one of the doors and waited.
Lilith followed, her feet now bleeding profusely from the sharp stone chips. She felt very happy and excited – trembling with nervous anticipation at the thought of seeing Lord Percy again – but was also more terrified than she had ever been in her life. Part of her desperately wanted to run away – to escape this nightmare, but she also felt immense devotion to her beloved Percy and longed for him to command her. She would do anything he asked.
The oppressive silence was broken by the sound of a bolt being drawn back. The door slowly opened. Claude shot past and went inside. The tall, shadowy form of an elegant figure loomed in the doorway. She closed her eyes and waited, yearning to be consumed. The figure moved slowly forward and stretched out its arms. Slender white fingers were about to grab her exposed shoulders.
There was a sudden rumbling sound. A car drove through the archway and into the courtyard. It turned to park a few doors away and its headlights were just about to illuminate Lilith and Lord Percy, but he swept her up and pulled her inside at tremendous speed. The door slammed shut.
Inside the dark hallway Lilith panted for breath, swooned and moaned softly. She felt like she was about to faint.
“Rest,” said Lord Percy and Lilith’s breathing instantly returned to normal.
She blinked and looked round, confused as to where she was. The vice-like grip of control that had held her mind was gone. She saw the looming form of Lord Percy standing close beside her and seemed a little surprised that he was there. At first she was terrified, but as s
he gazed up into his kind eyes she relaxed, even smiled at him coyly.
“I was scared I’d never see you again,” she said.
Percy Bowed slightly. “Please come in, dear lady.”
They went through into a cosy, candle lit room with an oak beamed ceiling and horse brasses on the walls. Lord Percy sat on a wingback chair by a fireplace dancing with a crackling fire. Claude sprawled at his feet.
He motioned for Lilith to sit on a threadbare settee, so she sat down in silence and studied Percy for a few moments. He was deep in thought.
“I had a most illuminating discussion with your Professor,” he said at last. “It seems I really have been transported into to a future world I know nothing about. I have seen many strange sights. Your world confuses and frightens me.”
“I can show you everything you need to know. I want to be with you. I thought I loved Ophelia but really I love you!”
“Dear lady Lilith, you don’t know what you are saying.”
“But I do! Arddhus are so cool. All my clothes are very Dark Pagan. I’ve got the jewellery and everything.”
“What nonsense you speak. Your Professor has explained everything. Brimstone Manor is no longer mine, my world has long gone and poor Rowena is lost to me forever. But your Professor has promised to go and find out what happened to Rowena. I await here for her return.”
“But I’ve got Rowena’s journal! I can tell you everything you need to know. I am sure she’s written it all down!”
Lord Percy gazed into the fire, lost in thought. “How I miss dear Rowena. Our courtship was a blissful time of happy conversation, long country walks and dancing at the local balls, tainted only by the poignant knowledge of her illness. That is what I called it because I was determined to find a cure through the wonders of science. Some of my friends were learned men. They took me to Middenmere where I met a great man, Doctor William Whitebeam, a Fellow of the Royal Society and leader in the field of occult chemistry. His work was in understanding how mumbled ancient curses combined with spilled and tasted blood could bring about such astounding metabolic and mental changes. I poured my fortune into helping him achieve his noble aim.”